Merseytravel chooses Omnibus for cloud-based scheduling
Merseytravel, the transport delivery arm of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, has chosen Omnibus's cloud-based solution for its timetabling and scheduling software.
The agreement extends the operator's partnership with EPM Group. Together they have already deployed ETM DAS, a contract management solution, and EPM Insights, an interactive analytics platform.
ETM DAS monitors the performance of tendered routes to help make cost-effective decisions while EPM Insights offers real-time management information and dashboards.
The scheduling suite will integrate with those products, removing the need for manual entry of timetables when preparing to isssue new tenders.
Omnibus's TransXchange viewer tools can also be used to review submissions from operators to ensure compliance with tender specifications, streamlining multiple tender submissions.
“The implementation of Omnibus scheduling suite will help streamline and increase the efficiency of the tendering process by removing the need for manual data entry," says Jeanette Townson, Bus Development Manager at Merseytravel. "Previously this process involved creating timetables in Microsoft Word and Excel which was time consuming and difficult to update.
"The integration of the products and automation capabilities will help ensure data quality and provide significant time savings - freeing up valuable resources to focus on other priorities."
Adds Ian Churchill, CEO at EPM Group (pictured): "We are thrilled to expand our partnership with Merseytravel, and this new integration is testament to the software’s capabilities as well as the value which is achieved with the two businesses, EPM and Omnibus, working together. Driving efficiency is the key goal behind our software solutions and we are committed to helping Transport Authorities improve the effectiveness of their organisations and the success of their networks."
CPT refreshes brand as coach travel TV campaign to launch
The Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) has revealed a refreshed brand that will make its public debut on Monday 10 January with the launch of an industry-wide television campaign to promote coach travel christened Get Back on Board.
CPT says that the updated brand “will help the organisation to deliver on its values and priorities, which were shaped last year during a consultation with members.” It adds that those discussions delivered a verdict that the Confederation “should be ambitious, inclusive and consistently provide a professional service.”
Adds CEO Graham Vidler: “Our brand needs to convey our values and the dynamism of the industry we represent. Our modernised look reflects our core values: That we are ambitious, we are inclusive and we always act with professionalism. With this new look we will be able to maintain consistency across our communications, so that people can clearly identify the work of CPT and our members.
“Our new strapline, Driving the UK Forward, shows the scale of our ambition to champion the benefits delivered by coach and bus for everyone across the UK. It reflects the essential services that our members provide for communities, supporting local economies and keeping the UK moving.”
The television advertising campaign, which represents the fruits of work first begun by a group of operators in mid-2020, hopes to promote the benefits of coach travel to a wide audience. It has used a specially branded Mercedes-Benz Tourismo and will be backed up by a dedicated website.
Blackpool assesses potential for real-time displays with Journeo
Real-time information for Blackpool Transport and Stagecoach buses serving the Fylde resort’s town centre is now being provided by a large display. Along with the accompanying software system, it has been installed by Journeo and forms “an insight into the potential of the technology,” says Blackpool Council, which plans to expand real-time bus information provision in due course.
The display is within the window of Blackpool Transport’s currently-closed customer service centre on Market Street. The package has been funded by Blackpool Council’s Local Transport Plan. Live journey times were previously only available for both operators’ services within their respective apps. The local authority points out that the new screen particularly benefits passengers that have no access to such technology.
Blackpool Council now hopes to roll out further real-time displays. That will include via shelter-mounted units at key stops, and through free-standing ‘totem screens’ around the town’s new tram terminus as part of the Talbot Gateway Phase 2 development, which is scheduled to open later this year.
Those totem screens will be interactive and display live travel information for buses, trams and trains as well as maps, points of interest and other messaging. The work is part of Blackpool Council’s efforts to promote sustainable travel where possible after it declared a climate emergency in 2021.
Each operator involved in the real-time information provision via the new screens has welcomed the development. Blackpool Transport Managing Director Jane Cole says that it “is the next step in making bus travel even more accessible than ever before,” while Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire MD Matt Davies has also acknowledged its value in encouraging patronage.